Belov
This is a legacy article; its contents no longer apply to the current iteration of the Frencoverse. ---- "You have no fear of doom. I intend to see that oversight corrected." ~ to an opponent. Introduction Object 557, more commonly referred to as Belov, is a robotic hypersoldier created from Project Fobos. Though he is technically in the service of the Mecharussian Armed Forces, he – like his three brothers – does not possess a serial code or a military rank. He is, however, codenamed 'ORTHRUS' by his creator, Grand Curatrix Elena Trotskaya. His purpose, like the other Fobosians, is defeating what would be considered hypersoldiers – the Imperium of Sidhae's Order of Judicators – but unlike his template Volkov, he is fully sentient. Belov's main strength in combat is his defence, supreme even by Fobosian standards: his tank-grade electroreactive armour plating is not only capable of, but designed towards, beating off all but the most powerful infantry weapons, including what might be fielded by his primary targets. Both of the spiked shields that he uses to fight in close combat are crafted from adamantite, a Khazard'Vaari 'perfect metal' used to build the bodies of a phaeron's Royal Guards. Virtually invulnerable to all but psionic or explosive weaponry, his shields will shatter bullets and blades that strike them and dissipate energy rifle blasts as if the fearsome weapons were mere water guns. Though he prefers to battle his targets up close and personal, he is armed with a variety of powerful weapons that allow him to be a serious threat at range. Most typically he is observed in such a scenario armed with an ion shotgun, a powerful arc lance (procured in 2171) and a cryo-blaster that projects a deadly stream of cryonic soda-augmented liquid helium. Additionally, he possesses stunning agility and speed, far in excess of what his great size would suggest, allowing him to simply dodge what attacks might be strong enough to crack open his thick armour. Belov's most idiosyncratic and also downright terrifying weapon, however, is the inbuilt tesseract labyrinth that he possesses. A highly-unstable portal to a pocket dimension compressed into a small container in his chest, it will draw in an incapacitated foe once exposed via compromise of the container, dragging him into the inescapable pocket dimension. Belov could theoretically leave the misfortunate captive to languish inside of the prison dimension permanently, time dilation within the dimension itself slowing the temporal flow to but a crawl while allowing full perception. It is both the prospect of literally being trapped forever inside of this prison dimension, and the realisation that the captured individual will only see freedom from it in some KDGB dungeon, that instils fear into whoever has the appalling luck of facing the tesseract's wielder. Personality "It's official. She's created a monster." ~ Captain Vsevolod Berdan. Belov, rather like the Tempest, the Consummation Engine and Project Ganymede, is best described as what happens when Trotskaya grants creative liberty to her infrequent psychotic episodes: a horror conceived during a dalliance between seething hatred and soul-rending rage, and given life in the maternity ward of madness-fuelled determination. When creating him, she specially modelled his personality upon that of Fred Harrigan, her self-professed arch-rival. As a result, the machine is cold, cruel and utterly murderous, yet his apparently brutish personality belies not only tactical genius, but determination and ruthlessness that could easily give his creator a run for her money. Where Belov differs from Harrigan, however, is his wholly nihilistic attitude as well as his absolute lack of moral conscience. He exists solely to destroy any and everything that opposes "the infinite ascent", either physically or mentally – and he knows it, caring little for any greater purpose. He is Trotskaya's relentless personal huntsman, being the mighty sword if Chekhov, her Fobosian bodyguard, is to be considered the shield. That, combined with having enough armour to laugh off all but the most potent of assaults, makes Belov such a force of nature that anything close exists only in the worst nightmares of his prey. The Fobosian is tailored down to the smallest bolt for the exclusive purpose of hunting down and subduing the deadliest, most ferocious operatives that an empire of warmongering cyborg supersoldiers technologically centuries ahead of his Motherland have to offer. By definition, such a warrior must be completely unyielding, unforgiving and pack enough firepower and defence to finish his job. He must be nearly impossible to subdue through any means that his foes possess. And, most importantly of all, he must be prepared to slaughter helpless children like cattle without even blinking an eye, should his target have the mind to try and use them as shields. When the monstrosity known as Belov was eventually released into the wide world, he did not disappoint in any of these criteria. Nevertheless, he truly believes that what he is doing is good. In his robotic consciousness, he is not hunting down and trapping Judicators, he is delivering righteous justice for the many wrongs that they have waged against the Motherland, his directive being to protect all things Mechanocratic from the perceived scourge of the Imperium. This offers an effective 'killswitch' for anyone who can convince him that his work is the greater of two evils; it is obvious that Trotskaya had him programmed to be this way intentionally, though why is unclear. Notable appearances Belov has yet to make a proper appearance in the Frencoverse. Trivia The character that would eventually become Belov was actually created as an attempt by the author to create an antagonist for a short horror story, borrowing inspiration from both Scar in the Fullmetal Alchemist anime/manga and the Terminator assassin robots from the titular franchise. Category:Characters Category:Mechanocratic Russia Category:Alternative Canon Category:Legacy articles